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US, South Korea laud new UN sanctions on Pyongyang

Fresh UN sanctions come amid ASEAN meeting, where Chinese minister is urging North Korean official to abide by measures.

The United States, China, Japan and South Korea have all welcomed tough new UN sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday praised the approval of new UN sanctions agreed a day earlier, calling the move a “very good outcome.”

The Security Council unanimously adopted the US-led resolution, which bans mineral and seafood exports worth more than $1bn, after North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) last month.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the sanctions were the right response, but repeated a call for dialogue.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha echoed Tillerson’s praise for the approved sanctions as a “very, very good outcome”.

Meanwhile, Japan said it was time to exert more “efffective pressure” on Pyongyang rahter than to pursue dialogue.

“Now is not the time for dialogue but the time to increase effective pressure on North Korea so that they will take concrete actions towards de-nuclearisation,” deputy foreign ministry spokesman Toshihide Ando told a news conference in Manila.

The diplomats are meeting in Manila, the Philippine capital, as foreign ministers from across Asia gather for a regional ASEAN summit.

Tillerson said he and his South Korean counterpart plan to discuss the sanctions during their meeting, along with next steps to pressure North Korea.

Washington wants eventually to talk to North Korea, Tillerson has said, but thinks such discussions would be futile if Pyongyang intends on maintaining its nuclear weapons.

The US secretary of state is also due to meet diplomats from China and other countries central to the North Korea debate.

Jean Lee, a fellow at the Wilson Centre, said it was “not the right time” for Tillerson to engage with his North Korean counterpart.

“The US and its allies will be looking for some proof and concrete steps taken by the North Korean side to show that they are willing to discuss a freeze or step back from the nuclear provocations, before they even begin discussing engagement,” she told Al Jazeera from Seoul, South Korea’s capital.

China urges ‘calm’

Meanwhile, Wang held bilateral talks with North Korea’s top diplomat, Ri Yong-ho, on the sidelines of the ongoing Manila summit.

“We had an intensive conversation, China urges North Korea to remain calm in dealing with the recent decision given by the UN Security Council,” the Chinese minister said, adding he urged North Korea not to violate the UN decision.

“We would like to urge other parties, such as the US and South Korea, to stop increasing tensions. The Korean Peninsula’s situation has reached a critical point. In the meantime, it’s also a turning point for resuming negotiations,” he said. “At this critical moment, we urge every party to remain calm, to take a decision that helps to reduce tensions, resume negotiations and secure regional peace development.”

When asked by a journalist about North Korea’s reaction, Wang said: “I think you have already anticipated North Korea’s reaction.”

US President Donald Trump on Saturday touted the new UN measures, saying they will have a “very big financial impact”.

He wrote on Twitter: “The United Nations Security Council just voted 15-0 to sanction North Korea. China and Russia voted with us. Very big financial impact!”

A few hours later, the US president commended the Security Council and said he appreciated the cooperation of China and Russia in passing the resolution, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

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About Trần Đình Hoành

I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
In October 2011 Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi published my book "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống).
In December 2013 Phu Nu Publishing House published my book "10 Core Values for Success".
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.